Josh and I are big believers in instilling in our children a healthy understanding of money at an early age. We have always wanted them to know what it means to save money, spend money and make money. We don't want them to leave our house and not understand the very basics of a relationship with money. In addition, we want them to know that hard work does pay off. So, in an effort to teach them some life skills, last summer, my kids and I started a small t-shirt business selling to family and friends.

We talked with them about the cost of the shirts, we openly discussed the designs of the shirts, and they were responsible for keeping the inventory and counting the money. We decided that with these shirts, we wanted to also spread some love for our city, as well as share some inspirational messages. Last year, our 2 designs were: Nothin' Finer 38355 (based on the old saying-"There's nothing finer than livin' in Mediner) and "Bee Kind Y'all." Since we are beekeepers, we used the image of a honey bee on our shirts. When I still see people wearing these shirts in pictures, on Facebook and around town, I cannot help but smile.

Now that we have The Venue at White Oak Farms opening up, I wanted to continue spreading hometown love, as well as inspirational messages. I'm so excited to share with you something that has been in the works for many months now. White Oak Farms now has our own line of t-shirts and hats! I thought I'd share some background information on our first three shirt designs.

Be the Light -This is a saying that my kids and I discuss very regularly. On the way to school each morning, I talk to them about being Christ's light to others. I ask them to try and "be the light" to someone at school each day. This past year, it was the theme of our back-to-school prayer rally in Medina. I believe so strongly that if we all showed His light to others, the world would be a much different place. Every where we turn, there is darkness, and hatred and essentially, the absence of light. If we can all shine Christ's light in our daily lives, imagine what a difference it could make. These scripture verses come to mind when I think of being the light:

Matthew 5: 16-"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven"

John 18: 12- "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Acts 13: 47-For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

One of my favorite parts of this design is the subtle cross detail we added. If you look at the B, T and L, you will see they all together combine to form a cross. It's just a sweet reminder that by being the light, He is what's behind it!

Be the Change, Y'all-I'm sure by now, many of you have heard the expression-"Be the change you wish to see in the world." Y'all, it's so true. If we want to live in a different world, it starts with us as individuals. We've been given one life to live, and if we want change to happen, we have to look inward to ourselves. My hope with this shirt design is twofold: I hope it inspires the person wearing it, and I hope it inspires others who see it worn. I hope my daughter wearing it to 5th grade next year ignites her classmates to make a difference. I hope the college girl wearing it on campus knows that she alone can start change. And, I hope the mom wearing wearing it realizes that she is responsible for change in her world. I want my t-shirts to be inspirational and challenging as well. Who's with me? Do you think we can individually "be the change?" I know I sure do!

West Tenn- By now, I'm sure many of you know why this shirt speaks to me. If not, let me share a little background. Josh and I were born in raised in Jackson, Tennessee. After graduating high school and living in Memphis, Mexico for a brief stint and Nashville, we decided almost four years ago to come back "home" to West Tennessee. We settled on a farm in Medina, Tennessee-only a few miles from our hometown of Jackson. When people ask us where we're from-we both immediately say "West Tennessee." Those two words symbolize home for us. I think many that live in this area totally understand that feeling too. I have friends who were born in one part of West Tennessee, but settled in another part of the area as adults. I hope this shirt design resonates with you all. If you travel around, people all over celebrate their heritage. I see people wearing state of TN shirts all the time, and I'm so proud to be a Tennessean. I seriously love all parts of Tennessee-it's one of the prettiest states I know. But, my heart will always lie in West Tenn. I wanted the whole family to be able to wear these shirts, so we included some fun design aspects: the baby onesie is all in lowercase handwriting, the youth shirt is in a lowercase font and the adult version is in all capital letters. Let's spread some WEST TENN love together!

We want to give you the chance to preorder, so if you'd like one of these shirts or hats, you can email us at events@whiteoakfarmstn.com or comment on our Facebook post with your style, size, and email address so that we can send you an invoice! *Comments can only be on the original Facebook post for your order to count!* Preorders go through next Friday, June 30th, so get yours today! If you have any questions, feel free to message or email us as well! Pricing information below.

8 days to Christmas-are y’all getting excited like my house is?!
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We have some family Christmas 🎄 traditions that we look forward to each year.
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We love attending the candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. There’s something magical about singing hymns with just the glow of 🕯 surrounding you. As soon as we leave church, we eat Chinese-just like on #thechristmasstory
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We also decided early on in our marriage not to give each other gifts on Christmas. Honestly, we tend to do so many house projects, we laugh and say our Christmas gifts are usually new flooring, new paint jobs or some other renovation project🤣
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Speaking of gifts, when our kids were born we told Santa 🎅🏻 that he only needed to bring them 3 🎁 each. They think long and hard on what they want their three to be each year✨
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This year, I’m excited to try a new gift exchange with my family. All the adults are bringing one “as seen on TV” gift, and we are playing a game to see who gets each gift!
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Do you have a holiday tradition you look forward to each year? Drop your favorite below👇🏻

I’m dreaming of blue skies and the 🌊 today.
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A few weeks ago, I conquered my fear of being out on a boat in the ocean to go deep-sea fishing 🐠 I also touched a fish for probably the first time in my life😜
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I grew up fishing with my parents on Lake Graham, but I never baited my own hook or touched a fish when I caught one.
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Looking back on this little 6-hour trip we took, if I had said “no” because I was scared, I would have missed seeing sea creatures I’d never seen before. I would have missed watching my daughter bait her own hook! I would have missed one of the best days out on the ocean with my family as we reeled in some pretty amazing fish 🎣 .
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Saying “yes” even when we are scared can allow us to experience moments we otherwise would miss.
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Dale Carnegie said, “If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Pretty good advice, if you ask me✨ #livethelittlethings #lifeofadventure

These two will leave our venue tonight as Mr. and Mrs.💕
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Happy wedding day to Emily and John✨ 📷: @kristajoyphotography